Backyard Roller Coaster

When, after a long day of riding rides at Magic Mountain, 10-year-old roller coaster aficionado Lyle Pemble asked his dad why they don’t have their own personal thrill ride, the 50-year-old father of two couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. So he built one in his back yard.

Will Pemble, an e-commerce consultant who lives in the fringe of the Bay Area in Orinda, California, says none of the usual reasons (like cost, time investment or insurance) kept him from starting the project, which he likes to think of as an education opportunity for his Lyle and his 12-year-old sister, Ellie. “I try to say yes,” Pemble explained, “rather than, ‘No, you’ll poke your eye out.’”

Pemble started the project last fall, spending around 300 hours and $3,500 to build a 180-foot, two-hill roller coaster that now takes up the majority of his family’s quarter-acre yard. He even set up a video blog at CoasterDad.com to document the project.

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This post was written by ianm